2 weeks ago
11
January 9, 2025
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President-elect of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Trump:
We, the undersigned civilian nine organizations representing a wide cross-section of American interests, constitute to impulse you to supply ironclad enactment to our allied partners, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), arsenic they face a Turkish-backed violative successful northeast Syria. Without U.S. assistance, the SDF faces eradication, which could pb to the taste cleansing of Syrian minorities and the resurgence of the Islamic State successful Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
We telephone connected your medication to instrumentality the indispensable steps to support the SDF and sphere the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nine governed by cosmopolitan antiauthoritarian and pluralist principles. Furthermore, the United States should authorisation Turkey unless it agrees to an enduring ceasefire, portion holding Ankara accountable for warfare crimes and quality rights abuses committed by its proxy forces, the Syrian National Army (SNA).
Our conjugation includes organizations with a nonstop involvement successful Syria’s future: deliberation tanks, civic action, and practice groups dedicated to upholding antiauthoritarian values, safeguarding number rights, and strengthening determination stability. We travel unneurotic successful solidarity to show the wide statement among divers communities for backing our Syrian partners arsenic Turkey seeks to alteration the state into a lawsuit state.
In October 2019, you sent a stern, unambiguous missive to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatening to destruct “the Turkish economy” if helium failed to negociate with SDF leaders. Your medication followed this up with sanctions targeting Turkish ministries and elder officials, forcing Erdoğan to negociate with the SDF and hold to a ceasefire. We anticipation you volition show the aforesaid uncompromising resoluteness successful your adjacent word arsenic Syria faces caller challenges.
Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, is capitalizing connected the chaos and unrest pursuing the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, seizing SDF-held territory successful Manbij and Tel Rifaat, and encircling the metropolis of Kobani. Turkey’s indiscriminate artillery barrages and airstrikes connected civilian infrastructure person precipitated a humanitarian crisis, with much than 120,000 displaced Syrians forced to wantonness their homes to advancing SNA forces.
The SNA, an confederation of transgression and jihadist militias, stands accused of superior quality rights abuses going backmost to 2018, erstwhile it carried retired a run of taste cleansing successful the Kurdish-majority municipality of Afrin. More recently, SNA fighters were recorded executing wounded SDF prisoners successful Manbij, and quality rights groups person documented “summary executions, arbitrary arrests, torture, and looting of property.”
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a U.S.-designated violent radical and Al Qaeda offshoot, besides falls nether Erdoğan’s orbit. Responsible for the lightning violative to region Assad from power, HTS has pledged to respect the rights of Syrian women and minorities. Despite these claims of moderation, HTS continues to airs a important information menace with its roots successful extremist ideologies and past of restrictive policies.
Unlike Turkey’s jihadist proxies, the SDF is simply a multi-ethnic unit that strives to support disenfranchised minorities and support stableness successful the portion it governs. During your archetypal term, the SDF was an indispensable subject spouse successful the conjugation to decision ISIS, a large milestone of your administration. However, ISIS fighters person killed 753 radical successful astir 500 attacks successful Syria implicit the past year, and humanities achievements endanger to beryllium reversed if the violent groups is allowed to reconstitute itself.
The U.S. tin enactment its Syrian allies without needlessly endangering the lives of American subject unit oregon committing endless resources towards stableness operations successful the region. In fact, supporting our SDF partners contiguous offers the champion assurance that America does not go entangled successful different Middle Eastern dispute. With 70 percent of Syria’s lipid and state fields located successful the DAANES, our continued sponsorship of the SDF besides serves arsenic a bargaining spot to negociate favorable presumption for a post-Assad Syria – a aboriginal that is escaped from Russian and Turkish influences and includes a ineligible model that guarantees adjacent rights and non-discrimination.
We impulse you to instrumentality the pursuing policies to hasten the extremity of Turkey’s unprovoked onshore drawback successful northeast Syria:
1. Provide subject and diplomatic enactment indispensable for the SDF to prolong antiaircraft operations and proceed counter-ISIS patrols. Enhanced information practice done quality sharing, subject aid, and advisory assistance empowers the SDF to instrumentality work for its ain security.
2. Implement sanctions against Turkey unless it agrees to an contiguous and lasting ceasefire and orders a implicit SNA withdrawal from the DAANES. Hold Turkey accountable for the SNA’s documented warfare crimes and quality rights abuses and grow sanctions against SNA militias.
3. Safeguard Syria’s at-risk taste and spiritual minorities, including Alawis, Druze, Kurds, Turkmen, Yezidis, and Christians – among them Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, and Arameans. Seek commitments from Turkey and HTS to admit adjacent rights, forestall unlawful retaliatory killings, and found a stable, inclusive authorities that represents each Syrians. Pressure Turkey to grant a information corridor for Kurds and different displaced Syrians to relocate to the DAANES.
4. Maintain the designation of HTS arsenic a violent enactment until it demonstrates that its stated committedness to the rights of women and minorities is not simply a nationalist relations strategy to triumph planetary designation and legitimacy.
Mr. President, your enactment and decisive enactment are important astatine this pivotal moment. By bolstering enactment for the SDF, ensuring the enforcement of a durable ceasefire, and imposing indispensable sanctions connected Turkey for its actions, the U.S. tin safely disengage from Syria portion protecting its halfway nationalist interests.
Thank you for your enactment during this captious time, and we look guardant to seeing actions that support our allies and beforehand a stable, inclusive aboriginal for each Syrians.
Sincerely,
American Friends of Kurdistan
American Mideast Coalition for Democracy
American Syriac Union
Armenian National Committee of America
Hellenic American Leadership Council
In Defense of Christians
Israel-American Civic Action Committee
Middle East Forum
Copy to:
Secretary-designate Marco Rubio, U.S. Department of State
Secretary-designate Scott Bessent, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth, U.S. Department of Defense
National Security Advisor-designate Mike Waltz, National Security Council
Greek (GR) · 
English (US) ·